This invention relates to a golf muscle weight training apparatus which develops strength, suppleness and memory in the muscles used for swinging a golf club.
Golf muscle development is advocated by teaching professionals, golf magazines, instruction books, and is used by playing professionals and, to some extent, the keen golfer. Every time a golf club is swung, the golfing muscles are getting a work out. It can take a long time of natural swinging to develop peak muscle conditioning and timing. To quicken the muscle development process, it is possible [is] to use resistance weight training methods, of the correct form, to first help develop and secondly keep in shape the golfing muscles. Resistance weight training has proven itself in other sports and in general fitness.
To some extent golf is not a natural sport, as the down swing requires a pulling down and through action of the left side, which is the weak side of a right handed person. The right side has a tendency to take over, with disastrous results. The left side needs to be developed together with a suitable golfing technique. The main strength areas of interest are the fingers, hands, wrist, arm, shoulders and leg muscles for both left and right sides. One method of overall muscle development is to exercise with a weighted golf club. Some methods of providing a weighted club system for muscle resistance training include adding lead weight to a golf club head. This produces a permanently non adjustable customized club. Another method is to literally swing with two or three golf clubs nested together. This is a simple at hand method of weighting training, warming up and loosening the muscles for practicing and prior to playing. A further method is to add a donut-shaped lead or rubber weight which can be slotted on, or pushed over the shaft. Using free weights or weight training machines is a method of general muscle development which is popular for general fitness. Further methods include commercially available specialist weighted clubs and systems. Some examples of these are the xe2x80x9cProtatorxe2x80x9d training device, xe2x80x9cSwing Rightxe2x80x9d training aid and xe2x80x9cPower Swing Fanxe2x80x9d apparatus. All of the methods of developing the golfing muscles have drawbacks that can be improved upon.
Golf, like most sporting activities, uses muscles which are not used to a great extent in normal everyday occupation, where all golfers can benefit from regular practice. If a golfer can not play often or get to the driving range, it is convenient to use a weighted club at home, and especially indoors during the winter period, to develop and keep the muscles in condition.
Adding lead weight to the head of a golf club generally renders that club only usable for the specific purpose of weight training. Customised lead weighted clubs are not commonly available, although they can usually be made up by a club making professional. This method is less accessable to the common golfer. As a product, they are not available as an off the shelf item, and some knowledge of a specialised product is first required and is not widely known. In addition, the mass and position of the weight is fixed and can not easily be added to, or removed. Generally a [wooden] wood is used for this purpose, since to attach enough weight to be useful, a large hollowed out head is first required. The fact that a long length club is also generally used, together with the different hitting action of a wood, as compared to a shorter iron, is also restrictive. The lead can be attached to an iron club, but the weight needs to be fixed securely, for example, by bolting, this renders the club only suitable for weight training and the club can not be reinstated for normal use if holes have be made in the club head or shaft. Because the leaded club is produced to order, it is relatively expensive. Carrying an extra weighted club in a golf bag for warming up purposes prior to playing is not very convenient, takes up valuable club space, adds extra weight to the bag and is embarrassing if the number of clubs that are carried in a round of golf exceeds the rules.
Swinging with two or three golf clubs nested together requires the golfer""s hands to span too large a grip diameter. This method is relatively uncomfortable and too dissimilar to the normal method of gripping. In addition, with this makeshift method, there is little flexibility in the amount of weight that can be used, the clubs are of uneven lengths, making the swing awkward. It is very inconvenient handing two or three clubs at once.
Adding a donut-shaped lead or rubber weight to a golf shaft has the disadvantage that, unless it is fixed, it can slide along the shaft causing injury to the hands and may damage the surface of the shaft. A single rubber donut weight does not add enough weight to be of practical value. Since the weight is only located centrally around the axis of the shaft, the affect of the club head and hitting the ball is not taken into account, as are clubs that are weighted in the heads.
Using free weights or weight training machines, while improving the muscles in general, does not necessarily improve the golfing muscles. It is important that the golfing muscles are developed with the correct balance. Otherwise a swing imbalance may result. It is impossible to replicate an individual""s golf swing with free weights such as barbells or dumbbells or weight machines. There is no substitute for resistance weight training with a suitable heavy and adjustable weighted golf club to suit each individual.
The xe2x80x9cProtatorxe2x80x9d training device is a short shafted weight training device which has a slight bend in the shaft, a fixed weight and a teaching grip. The weight or grip cannot be adjusted. The product is expensive and is difficult to be carried in a golf bag. It is too different from a conventional club and does not give the same feel. The weight is relatively light for the length of the shaft, although the shaft bend does add a moment which replicates the club head to some extent. Club face mid swing position alignment is marginally possible due to the shaft bend.
The xe2x80x9cSwing Rightxe2x80x9d training aid is a straight, short shafted weight training aid with a training grip. It is not as expensive as the xe2x80x98Protatorxe2x80x99 but is too different from a normal golf club. A heavy and a light weight are provided. It has a teaching grip which is too restrictive for use by the average-to-good golfer, and is difficult to carry in a golf bag to use for warming up with at the golf course. Club face mid position alignment is not possible.
The xe2x80x9cPower Swing Fanxe2x80x9d apparatus is a straight shafted device with large fan blades attached. As it is swung, the fans rotate to generate resistance. It is too dissimilar to a golf club feel and gives no mid swing position alignment. The fan is expensive, bulky, hard to store and requires a lot of room to swing.
Golf muscle training methods and apparatus are not new but nothing on the market fully addresses the needs of the golfer today to develop the golfing muscles.
The present invention provides a flexible, universal and portable weight training apparatus for developing and keeping in condition golf muscles, comprising a simple, quick and temporary clamping method to attach a weight apparatus to an existing golf club shaft with no damage to the club. The weight training apparatus can be easily positioned along the length of the shaft, at right angles and readily removed from the shaft. Individual extension weights can be added to the weight training apparatus. In accordance with the invention, there is provided a weight training apparatus for attachment to an elongated shaft, the weight training apparatus comprising a weight carrier including an elongated weight supporting portion having a longitudinal axis. A clamp mechanism cooperates with the weight carrier to clamp the weight carrier to the shaft with the axis of the weight supporting portion extending substantially perpendicular to a plane extending through the axis of the shaft. At least one weight is supported by the weight supporting portion with an axis of the weight extending substantially coaxial with the axis of the weight supporting portion. In one embodiment in which the shaft is that of a sports implement having a head portion, the weight is offset laterally with respect to an axis of the shaft and extends in overlying relation with the head portion of the implement. Moreover, one or more extension weights can be coupled to the shaft by the weight carrier. The weight supported by the weight supporting portion and/or the extension weights can extend in-line with or be off-set with respect to the shaft. Also, the weight can extend in-line with or be off-set with respect to the weight carrier. According to a further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a golf muscle weight training apparatus, which has a pipe clamp type mechanism for coupling to an existing golf club shaft, wherein the apparatus can be positioned on the shaft anywhere between the head and the grip to adjust the leverage affect, wherein separate weights are positioned above the club head and can be attached and removed, and wherein the axis of the weights extend parallel to the leading edge of the club head.